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Effects of full and partial clearing, with and without herbicide, on weed cover, light availability, and establishment success of white ash in shrub communities of abandoned pastureland in southwestern Quebec, Canada

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Abstract

Shrub communities established on former pasture land are currently under-used and their forestry potential is of interest to land owners wishing to increase valuable hardwood regeneration on their properties. The comparative effects of strip clearing and total clearing, both treatments applied with or without herbicide, on competing vegetation cover, light availability, and survival and growth of planted white ash (Fraxinus americana L.) were examined in two different shrub dominated sites for 3 years in southwestern Québec, Canada. Survival was high in all treatments. At the site with the richest soil and in comparison to total clearing, strip clearing produced the lowest light level in the third year, which induced lower total herbaceous weed cover. These combined effects produced the same growth results for white ash seedlings in all treatments. At the second site, with the highest woody vegetation regrowth, strip clearing has promoted seedling height growth and produced the highest height: diameter ratio for white ash. This ratio was also superior at this site in the absence of herbicide. Treatment effects were soil/site dependant. Because partial clearing in strips has never reduced tree growth in comparison to total clearing, it represents a promising method for the establishment of valuable hardwoods in shrubby vegetation, with lower management intensity and lower landscape impact than total clearing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institut de recherche en biologie végétale, Université de Montréal & Jardin botanique de Montréal, 4101 est rue Sherbrooke, Montréal, H1X 2B2, Canada

    Alain Cogliastro, Karyne Benjamin & André Bouchard

  2. Groupe de Recherche en Écologie Forestière Interuniversitaire (GREFI), C. P. 8888, Succ. Centre-Ville, Montréal, H3C 3P8, Canada

    Alain Cogliastro & André Bouchard

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  1. Alain Cogliastro
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  2. Karyne Benjamin
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Correspondence to Alain Cogliastro.

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Cogliastro, A., Benjamin, K. & Bouchard, A. Effects of full and partial clearing, with and without herbicide, on weed cover, light availability, and establishment success of white ash in shrub communities of abandoned pastureland in southwestern Quebec, Canada. New Forest 32, 197–210 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11056-005-5960-8

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